We learned about Apollo 13 and how the Lead Flight Director,
Mr. Gene Kranz, helped save the mission. We watched the Apollo 13 movie about
the astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise and John Swigert. Pablo’s favorite part
of the movie was when the astronauts almost ran out of clean oxygen, because he
learned how to solve a problem like that in a spacecraft. The solution was to
make the air filter from the Service Module fit the air filter in the Lunar Module
(they were different shapes), and they called this invention the “mailbox”.
After that we
did an engineering project, just like the “mailbox” design, and we had to make
two different shapes fit together. We knew if our individual designs worked
when we were able to get a ball to lift up, by blowing into a tube that we made
(see picture). This project helped us
learn about Engineering Design. First our teacher gave us a question (make two
different shapes fit together), then we drew our ideas, we made our ideas, and
then we tested them. If our design didn’t work, and the air didn’t go through
the tubes and lift the ball, then we had to try again. Emilio had to keep
re-designing his idea like 15 TIMES until it worked, BUT he never gave up…just like
when Gene Kranz said that, “failure is not an option!”
At the end of this project we wrote letters to Mr. Kranz and
Lauren’s mom is going to mail them for us! We hope he reads our letters and
writes us back!
